A Texas man allegedly cleaned up after shooting his fiancé so that he could "lay" with her for days after her death.
Joseph Oddo III, 52, faces murder and tampering with evidence charges related to the May shooting of his fiancé, 39-year-old LaVera Wardell, police said. Oddo III was arrested after police were notified of a smell coming from the apartment the couple shared.
According to recently filed court documents, Oddo allegedly shot Wardell on May 6. Police did not discover her body until May 19, Fox News reported.
The station reported that Oddo told authorities he cleaned up the scene because he "wanted to lay with" Wardell.
When police arrived on May 19, they found Wardell, but by then Oddo was gone. He was not arrested until June 2 when police said they found him in a motel.
Fox News reported that Oddo told police that the shooting happened during an argument. The station said that, according to Oddo, an argument turned physical, and Wardell charged him with a knife, so he shot her. Oddo was seen buying cleaning supplies on May 13, a week after the shooting.
Police told Fox News that there was a history of domestic calls to the residence.
Originally published on Lawyer Herald
